It turns out that Shohei Ohtani’s contract deferrals were his idea all along.
After agreeing to a $700 million deal with the Dodgers that included $680 million in deferrals last year, fans were in uproar as the Dodgers went on a billion-dollar offseason spending spree and an eventual World Series win.
“It was a huge splash in the industry that’s never been done before to that level. It was very, very important to Shohei not to hamstring an organization, Ohtani’s agent, Naz Balelo, told USA Today. “He just said, ‘What would happen if we defer all or part of that salary? I’m fine financially.’”
The statement took the Dodgers by surprise.
“I remember when I first heard that from (president of baseball operations) Andrew [Friedman],” Dodgers front office executive Stan Kasten told USA Today about the idea of unprecedented deferrals. “I said, ‘Can you repeat that, please?’ That was my honest reaction. Andrew says, ‘Can we make that work?’”
Ohtani decided that it was best to forgo his salary during his baseball career, with tons of off-the-field endorsement opportunities to make up the difference, and then cash in to the tune of $68 million a year beginning in 2034.
“It was important to him to allow the Dodgers to ultimately be competitive year after year and go out and be able to sign players to bring together a championship-caliber team,” Balelo told the outlet. “That was really his ultimate goal here.”
Los Angeles has continued building a dream team thanks to the financial flexibility given out by Ohtani.
The Dodgers swiftly signed starters Tyler Glashow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to massive contracts last offseason.
Glasnow signed a five-year, $136.5 million contract, while Yamamoto agreed to a record 12-year, $325 million contract.
Free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez agreed to a one-year, $23.5 million deal shortly after, and the stage was set for the super team to take the field.
Los Angeles won the World Series in five games after defeating the Mets in the NLCS and Yankees in the World Series.
The Dodgers have continued their spending this offseason, signing Tommy Edman and Blake Snell to big contracts while also courting the likes of Juan Soto and Japanese star pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Their deferred cash total is now approaching $1 billion.